


Start of Something New

by actlikesummer



Series: The Kara Stark Chronicles [5]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Supergirl (TV 2015), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Awesome Sam Wilson, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Hydra (Marvel), Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Nick Fury Knows All, Protective Kara Danvers, Protective Natasha Romanov, Protective Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson Is a Good Bro, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Steve Rogers & Sam Wilson Friendship, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Steve Rogers and the 21st Century
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:00:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26277550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/actlikesummer/pseuds/actlikesummer
Summary: Kara never imagined she'd have to take on the very organization that saved her life when she landed on Earth, but when everything she knows changes that is exactly what she has to do. Now she has to help Steve and his crew save billions of lives from the same agency that brought them together.The only problem is their secret weapon: Bucky freaking Barnes.**This story is dedicated to the amazing Chadwick Boseman. May he rest in paradise.**
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers, Kara Danvers & Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Kara Danvers & Sam Wilson, Kara Danvers/Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers & Sam Wilson
Series: The Kara Stark Chronicles [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1557508
Comments: 10
Kudos: 44





	1. A New Friend

**Author's Note:**

> Okay friends, here is Winter Soldier!
> 
> Also, because I had someone ask me about it, I wanted to clarify that I will not be doing every movie, just a lot of them. If I skip your favorite movie, if I skip a favorite scene from a movie I am doing, or if there's just something you want to see with the characters in one of the stories I've posted that you wish I'd added, let me know! I'm considering a "deleted scenes" story if I ever get through this series.
> 
> (Don't worry--I'll get through it, it will just take a while.)

It was a brisk morning as the sun rose over the nation’s capital. As the sky changed from black to pink to blue, a young man continued his morning run. He was nearing the end of his daily run, only 30 more minutes, he estimated, when he heard footsteps behind him.

This neither fazed nor shocked the man as he was used to seeing others on his run. “On your left.”

He barely paid attention to the other man, a soldier by the looks of his stature, and focused on his breathing. That was, until he heard footsteps again, not long afterward.

“On your left.”

He blinked in confusion, but the man was nowhere to be seen. Shaking his head, he continued his run. Then he heard the footsteps again. “On your left.”

This time he watched the man fly past him and pushed himself to run faster. Captain America may have lapped him, but he wasn’t about to let it happen again. He pushed himself so hard he nearly missed the familiar sound behind him

“Don’t say it. Don’t say it!”

“On your left.”

“Come on!”

He tried to push himself faster, but a cramp in his leg let him know that it was time to stop. Breathing heavily, he dropped next to a tree and waited. Sure enough, he didn’t have to wait long before the blond man slowed to a stop near him.

“Need a medic?” The super soldier smiled.

“I need a new set of lungs.” Forcing out a laugh, the man looked up. “Dude, you just ran like, 13 miles in 30 minutes.”

Steve shrugged. “I guess I got a late start.”

“Really? You should be ashamed of yourself. You should take another lap.” Pausing to breathe, he looked up again. “Did you just take it? I assume you just took it.”

Deciding it was time to change the subject, Steve gestured to him. “What unit you with?”

“58th Pararescue. But now I’m working down at the VA.” Reaching his hand up, he took the hand Steve offered and climbed to his feet. “Sam Wilson.”

“Steve Rogers.”

“Yeah, I kind of put that together.” Sam teased as he bent over. “Must have freaked you out, coming home after the whole defrosting thing.”

Steve sighed. “It takes some getting used to. It’s good to meet you, Sam.”

“It’s your bed, right?”

Steve was confused as Sam’s voice rang out, so he turned to look at him. “What’s that?”

“Your bed, it’s too soft.” Sam clarified. “When I was over there, I’d sleep on the ground, use rocks for pillows like a caveman. Now I’m home, lying in my bed, and it’s like…”

“Lying on a marshmallow.” Steve supplied knowingly. “Feel like I’m going to sink right to the floor.”

Though he had friends and people to talk to, it was different knowing that someone really understood how he felt.

“How long?” He asked his new acquaintance.

The other man shrugged. “Two tours.” Then he decided to change the subject. “You must miss the good old days, huh?”

It was Steve’s turn to shrug as he thought about it. “Well, things aren’t so bad. Food’s a lot better; we used to boil everything. No polio is good. Internet, so helpful. I’ve been reading that a lot, trying to catch up.”

“Man, I wish I could have been there to see your reaction to that.” Sam teased.

Laughing, Steve shook his head. “Yeah, I think I might have driven my girlfriend crazy with all of my questions and with how many times she had to explain each thing to me.”

“Ah, so the famous Captain _does_ have a girlfriend.” Sam smiled, mostly because he saw the emotion on Steve’s face. “I thought I’d heard a rumor about that.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not a secret but also not something we go yelling from the rooftops.” He paused. “But that’s another plus…the important people. It’s not so bad with them around.”

He thought of Kara, a woman pulled straight out of space, going through exactly what he was now. He also thought of Layna, the little girl that had stolen his heart and eased the ache that had settled there every now and then.

Nodding, Sam sighed. “Marvin Gaye, 1972, “Trouble Man” soundtrack. Everything you missed jammed into one album.”

Steve took out his notebook and nodded, adding the suggestion to his list of things to look up. “I’ll put it on the list.”

As he finished writing, a high-pitched chime sounded from his phone. Pulling it out, he saw that Natasha had texted him to prepare for a new mission.

“Alright, Sam, duty calls. Thanks for the run.” Then he shook his hand. “If that’s what you want to call running.”

“Oh, that’s how it is?” Sam joked.

“Oh, that’s how it is.” Steve laughed again.

As Steve started to leave, Sam spoke up again. “Any time you want to stop by the VA, make me look awesome in front of the girl at the front desk, just let me know.”

“I’ll keep it in mind,” Steve told him as Nat’s car sped up to meet him.

“Hey, fellas. Either one of you know where the Smithsonian is? I’m here to pick up a fossil.” She said as soon as the window rolled down.

“That’s hilarious.” The captain told her dryly.

Behind him, Sam grinned. “How you doing?”

“Hey.” She said by way of a greeting, and Steve smirked.

“Can’t run everywhere.”

“No, you can’t,” Sam said, shaking his head as they drove off.

* * *

Kara breathed heavily as she fought her opponent. She threw a punch and felt the hard surface beneath her knuckle give way as the contents inside started to spill out.

It had been two months since she and Steve had been able to see each other in person, even with her ability to fly back and forth quickly. Between his missions, Supergirl, her daytime job, and Layna…they had both been overwhelmingly busy. The stress of it all, and the pure heartache she felt (but wouldn’t admit), had started to take over her mind, and she needed to relieve it.

Throwing punch after punch at her target, her mind shut off, and she let the anger seep out of her. It felt like a lifetime when a hand touched her shoulder, and she flung herself around, shoving the person off of her.

Then she froze.

“Wow, okay…wasn’t expecting that,” Tony told her as he got himself up from the floor. “Though in hindsight, you weren’t responding to anyone, so I guess I should have.”

“Tony…” Her voice caught in her throat.

Holding his hands out to the side, he shook his head. “Hey, I’m good. Are you?”

Blinking, Kara looked back at the old car she had been using as a punching bag and winced. “Oops.”

“Those were some pretty strong punches.” Her brother mentioned. “Anything you want to talk about?”

Shaking her head, she sighed. “Not really.”

“Good. Because JARVIS has been trying to get ahold of you.” He informed her.

“What villain is it this time?”

“Layna’s school.” He knew he should have elaborated the second her head shot up. “She’s okay. They just want you to come down and figure out a situation that happened or something.”

“I have to go.” She nearly sped bout of the room, but Tony caught her arm. “You can’t keep me here.”

“I’m not.” He eyed her curiously. “But I can go with you.”

“Fine. But let’s go.”

* * *

Walking into the front office of Layna’s school, the siblings glanced at each other with the feeling that all the air had been sucked out.

Kara approached the desk and smiled. “I got a call about my daughter, Layna Stark?”

Nodding, the secretary smiled. “The principal’s office is right down that hall. He’s waiting for you.”

They were gone before she finished, and the second they entered the room, Kara’s eyes darkened. On one side of the desk, the principal sat with folded hands as her teacher stood behind him. On the side closest to her, Layna sat in a chair with her head dropped almost to her knees. She didn’t need super hearing to know that she’d been crying.

Walking over to her daughter, she crouched down and grabbed her hand. “Hey, bug. You okay?”

“Miss Stark-”

Looking up at the principal, Kara’s glare deepened to the point that had Tony stepping forward just in case her heat vision started up. “Excuse me, Mr. Ferdinand, before we start, I would like to make sure my daughter is okay.”

Layna sniffled. “Hi, Mama.”

Eyeing her daughter, the Kryptonian sighed and rose to sit in the chair beside her daughter. Behind them, Tony leaned against a bookshelf.

“As I was saying, Miss Stark, your daughter has been brought here on a shocking and unexpected behavior.” The man continued now that he had her permission.

“What happened?” Kara asked quickly, expecting to hear about a power that had accidentally surfaced.

This time, the teacher she knew as Mr. Quick walked forward. “We had a recent assignment where the children had to write an essay on a person that they considered to be their hero that wasn’t their guardian or parent. As I was grading Layna’s last night, I noticed that her topic was Captain Steve Rogers.”

She hadn’t known that, but her heart lifted a little at the knowledge. “Well deserved, I believe, as Captain America is a national hero.”

“That is true, Miss Stark.” The teacher nodded. “However, your daughter did not write about Captain America; she wrote about Steve Rogers.”

Kara blinked, and her head tilted in confusion. “I don’t follow.”

“We do not encourage lying at this school, and while your daughter’s essay is very well written, she details how Captain Rogers is her hero because of how he takes care of her in her personal life. She explains that he is a hero for loving her like a father, even when he didn’t have to, and that he calls every night before bed.

“Your daughter’s imagination is an incredible thing for a child to have; unfortunately, this assignment was supposed to be written with facts or examples from their lives. When I tried to ask her about this, she was adamant that she was telling the truth.”

“Wow. We really need to get her into a smart school, K.” Tony said as he put his hand on Layna’s shoulder. “You guys are aware that I’m Iron Man, right? Isn’t it possible that she knows him?”

“While your relation to both your niece and Captain Rogers is well known, it is an outlandish notion to let a child think that a superhero is her father.” The principal chimed in.

“But that isn’t what she said, is it?” Clearing her throat, Kara settled back in her chair. “Layna, why don’t you take Uncle Tony to your locker and get your things. I think we’ll be taking a long weekend.”

“I’m sorry, but you can’t just-”

“Actually, as she is my daughter, I can do exactly that which I just did.” Kara spat.

They waited for the pair to leave the office, and as the door shut behind them, Mr. Ferdinand leaned forward. “I understand that it can be hard to believe that your child would do something like this…”

“Well, actually, I do believe it,” Kara smirked. “Considering it is all true, I do believe that she would be so amazing to write the essay on Steve.

“What I don’t believe is that a school so rooted in truth and factual information is accusing my daughter of something where she did nothing wrong.”

“Miss Stark, please understand that we do not do this lightly.”

“Please tell me, Mr. Quick, do you fact check your sources when you grade homework assignments?” She asked.

“When the need calls for it, yes.” He told her firmly.

“Well, it is self-evident that you did not fact check in this case.” She told him, knowing she had them now. “I would like for you to type my name into the search bar on Mr. Ferdinand’s computer if you will.”

“I do not see how-”

“Humor me.”

Sighing, both men did as she asked. She knew the moment they realized their mistake. “Yes, you see, I have been in a relationship with Captain Rogers for a while now, and it is pretty common knowledge.”

“Miss Stark…I am so sorry.” The principal stood as she did.

“Save it.” She told them. “Where do you get off bullying a child into feeling heartbroken over the fact that she is being told someone she looks up to isn’t for her to do? Now, I m taking my daughter home, and she will not be returning until Monday.”

She started to walk away and then paused. “Also, I would appreciate a copy of that essay if you wouldn’t mind. I know someone who would probably love to read it the next time he is in town.”

Then she walked out the door.


	2. A Horrible Loss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Steve?”
> 
> “Fury’s dead.”

Kara sighed as she stared at her computer. Now that she was the head of IT for Stark Industries, she had a lot more responsibilities she had to handle in the civilian part of her life. It wasn’t a difficult or challenging task she was carrying out; this was just an annual update to the security system, but it was tedious, and her eyes were starting to hurt.

The sky outside her window was dark, and the sun would be rising only a few hours from then. Sipping from her wine glass, she dragged a hand through her hair and bit her lip. She sat on her bed in her white pajamas with black polka dots and groaned. Her glasses sat on the bedside table as she didn’t need to hide her identity while in the tower, and she rubbed her eyes.

When her phone rang, she was so grateful for the distraction she thought nothing in the world could bother her. She was wrong.

“Thank Rao,” she breathed into the phone. “I seriously did not want to look at this computer anymore.”

She was met with silence, and the worry started to creep into her bones as it lingered in place of her boyfriend’s familiar, comforting voice.

“Steve?”

“Fury’s dead.”

Kara’s heart dropped into her stomach and settled itself there. She didn’t speak for a minute as she let the news sink in. “How...what?”

“Fury. He’s dead.” Steve told his girlfriend, his voice quiet and broken.

Shaking some sense back into her head, she pushed the computer away and leapt off of her bed. Hurrying down the hallway, she arrived at the elevator and smacked the button for Tony and Pepper’s floor.

“What happened?” She asked, swallowing to keep her voice from wavering. “ _How_ could this happen?”

Steve cleared his throat, and she could hear other people in the background. “We’re not entirely sure of the details yet, but they said he was in a car chase and shootout with local police. He was shot, and he crashed during surgery.”

“Oh, Rao.” She whispered as the doors to the elevator opened, and she sped down the hallway.

Banging on Tony’s door, she sighed into the phone. “Where are you now?”

“I’m at the hospital with Nat, Maria Hill, and a bunch of other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.” He told her. “Nat and I just got to see him…”

Tears filled her eyes at the image of them having to see his deceased body lying on a cold table, as well as her own mental image of his dead body. They weren’t incredibly close, but he was a good man, and he’d taken care of them when he could.

“What I want to know is why the police were chasing him and how this happened.” She told him matter-of-factly. “This wasn’t just a regular guy off the street. He has government license plates and identification, as well as a tricked-out car. They had to have been prepared for that…”

“I know.” Steve agreed with her. “It doesn’t make any sense at all.”

The door opened to the bedroom, and Tony stood in front of her, an annoyed look on his face. “What the hell, Kara?”

Holding up a finger to have him wait for a second, she continued speaking to Steve. “So, what happens now?”

There was a voice in the background of his end, and she knew they were trying to get answers. She waited and tried to make out what they were saying as voices rushed closer and farther from the phone.

Finally, his voice came back into the phone. “Pierce wants to talk to me back at headquarters.”

“Please be careful.” She said sadly. “Keep me updated, okay? And call me when they release you.”

“I will.” He paused. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

She slowly lowered her phone and clicked the button to end the call. Then she let her arms fall to her sides as she slumped against the wall behind her. Finally, she looked at her brother and sighed.

“Can I ask why you’re banging on our door at four o’clock in the morning?” He grumbled as he checked the clock. “First, you yell at me because I don’t get enough sleep, and now you’re not letting me get any when I actually try?”

“That was Steve.”

“Yeah, I kind of figured that out from your parting words.” He said sarcastically. “You know you can come to me about anything, but I definitely don’t need to know about your four a.m. phone sex.”

“Tony!” She hissed, and his eyes shot up to meet her own. “This is serious.”

“So serious, we couldn’t talk about it when the sun was fully up?” He asked yawning.

“Tony…Nick Fury just died.” She told him quickly.

His body froze in the doorway for only a moment before he stepped out and closed it behind him. Leaning on the wall across from her, his face was shocked.

“What the hell happened?”

“They aren’t quite sure yet. Something about a car chase, a shootout, and then crashing during his surgery.” She relayed the information she was given. “Steve was being called back to HQ when we hung up, so maybe they’ll give him more information when he gets there.”

“Shit,” Tony said, as he didn’t know what else to say. “He’s really gone?”

Kara nodded. “Maria Hill was there. So was Natasha. Steve and Nat got to see him before Maria took him away.”

“Wow.”

Both siblings were quiet for a few minutes as they silently mourned their colleague and friend. After a short time had passed, Tony cleared his throat.

“So, what is happening now?”

Kara shrugged. “Well, Steve said he’d keep me posted on anything they find out.” She looked up at him. “I was working on that new update for SI, but I think one of us should be there, Tony.”

“Go. The updated can wait.”

The answer shocked her, and it could be seen visibly on her face. “Me? I figured you would want to be there. You knew him better than I did.”

“My being there will only cause issues, I think. Besides, Steve will need you there.” He agreed. “We can handle Layna, and I’ll go wake Bruce and Pepper to give them the news. They should hear it from us before they see it on the news or the internet.”

Nodding, she hugged him. “Thank you.”

Pulling back, she started to walk away when she turned around to look at him. “This all feels…wrong. I think this is going to be really bad, Tony.”

He nodded. “Yeah…I do too.”

Walking closer to her again, he grabbed her hand. “I know you’re invincible, but…please, be careful.”

She squeezed his hand and gave him a small smile. “You know I will.”

With that, she turned and hurried back to her room. Changing into her suit, she didn’t bother to pack as she knew she had extra clothes and necessities at Steve’s apartment that she could use. Then she quickly walked down the hall to Layna’s room and entered quietly.

Leaning down, she kissed her daughter’s hair and brushed it away from her face. She whispered words of love she knew the young girl couldn’t hear then stood up again. Looking around, she saw the innocence her daughter still held and hoped that they could hold onto it for as long as they possibly could. She didn’t want to see the day where her child saw all of the bad realities that the world had to offer.

“Mama?”

Looking in the direction of the quiet voice, Kara sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“What’s going on?” Her daughter asked, rubbing her eyes.

Kara walked over and sat on the edge of the little girl’s bed. “I have to go see Steve for a little bit. A friend of ours was hurt tonight, and we have to figure out what happened. Uncle Tony, Aunt Pepper, and Uncle Bruce are going to watch you will I’m gone, okay?”

Nodding, the girl’s eyes started to flutter closed again. “Okay, Mama. Love you.”

“I love you too.” Then she stood and walked to the doorway.

Leaving the room, Kara made her way to the floor’s balcony to begin her journey as her phone rang again. Seeing it was Steve again, she quickly answered it. “What’s going on?”

Listening to the voice on the other end, she swallowed the lump in her throat. “Of course.” She waited for the response. “That won’t be a problem at all.”

Pulling the phone from her ear, she clicked the end call button again and sighed. Hesitating for only a moment, she stored her phone safely in her suit’s hidden pouch and curled her hands into tight fists of fury. Walking onto the balcony, she looked at the city around her and took in the view for a moment. Then she crouched slightly and took off into the sky.


	3. Hiding Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve shrugged. “I’m sorry about this. We need a place to lay low.”
> 
> “Everyone we know is trying to kill us,” Natasha added morosely.
> 
> Eyeing both of them, Sam moved aside instantly. “Not everyone.”

Steve sighed as he hurried next to Natasha. Ducking behind bushes and buildings, he winced at how sore his body was after being trapped in the explosion at Camp Lehigh. He’d learned a lot in the span of 24 hours, and most of it he couldn’t believe was true.

Nick Fury had been murdered.

SHIELD had turned himself and Natasha into fugitives.

HYDRA wasn’t only back, but it had never been defeated.

They killed Howard and Maria Stark in cold blood. (In the back of his mind, he knew Kara would be devastated by that news.)

HYDRA was SHIELD.

SHIELD was HYDRA.

Shaking the thoughts from his brain, he gestured to Natasha, and they ran over to the sliding glass door of a small ground-level apartment. He knocked, and they stood in silence as they waited for an answer. When the door finally opened, he felt guilty.

“Hey, man,” Sam said, confused.

Shaking his head, Steve shrugged. “I’m sorry about this. We need a place to lay low.”

“Everyone we know is trying to kill us,” Natasha added morosely.

Eyeing both of them, Sam moved aside instantly. “Not everyone.”

Once inside, Sam showed them where they could wash up and fix up their wounds. They were lucky enough to walk away from the blast with only minor burns and cuts, but it didn’t settle well with any of them that their own people would try to take them out.

As he washed his hands, Steve looked up and saw Natasha sitting on the bed and staring into the air. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” She told him too quickly.

Sighing heavily, he walked closer to her and sat only a few feet away. “What’s going on?”

Her voice was quiet and rough when she spoke. “When I first joined SHIELD, I thought I was going straight. But I guess I just traded in the KGB for HYDRA,” She sighed. “I thought I knew whose lies I was telling, but I guess I can’t tell the difference anymore.”

“There’s a chance you might be in the wrong business.” He told her, referencing a joke they’d shared earlier.

“I owe you.” She told him honestly.

He shook his head again. “It’s okay.”

“If it was the other way around, and it was down to me to save your life, now you be honest with me…would you trust me to do it?”

“I would now.” He told her using the same honest tone she’d given him. “And I’m always honest.”

Natasha smirked at him. “So you’re going to tell Kara everything that we just went through? The shootout, the bomb…”

“Let’s not even think about that right now, okay?” He teased with a smile now on his lips.

“Well, you seem pretty chipper for someone who just found out they died for nothing.”

Leaning back, he let out a relaxed sigh. “Well, guess I just like to know who I’m fighting.”

“I made breakfast.”

Turning, Steve saw Sam standing in the doorway of the room. He was watching them closely and watched them both carefully.

“If you guys eat that sort of thing.”

Nodding, they made their way into the kitchen and ate before discussing the situation at hand. Steve was dying to call Kara to explain, but he knew better than to use technology as SHIELD would be on them in minutes if he did.

“So, the question is, who at SHIELD could launch a domestic missile strike?” Natasha asked.

Sitting in his chair, Steve pondered that thought for a moment. “Pierce.”

“Who happens to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the world.” She retorted.

“But he’s not working alone.” Steve countered. “Zola’s algorithm was on the Lemurian Star.”

A light went off in Natasha’s head, and she looked at him. “So was Jasper Sitwell.”

Steve looked at her in shock for a second before putting two and two together and sighing in disbelief. “So the real question us, how do the two most wanted people in Washington kidnap a SHIELD officer in broad daylight?”

Shaking his head at the two fugitives behind him, Sam walked to the counter and picked up a folder before setting it on the table in front of them. “They answer is, you don’t.”

“What’s this?” Steve asked, leaning forward to grab it.

“Call it a resume,” Sam told him seriously.

Grabbing the picture on top, Natasha’s eyes held shock. “Is this Bakhmala? The Khalid Khandil mission; that was you?” Then she looked at Steve. “You didn’t say he was a Pararescue.”

“Is this Riley?” Steve asked him, mentioning the friend Sam had said he’d lost in combat.

Sam nodded. “Yeah.”

“I heard they couldn’t bring in the chopper because of the RPGs,” Natasha said, impressed. “What did you use? A stealth chute?”

“No. These.” Sam lifted the folder and gave it to Steve.

On the page were the schematics and break downs of a pair of government-issued mechanical wings.

Looking up at his new friend, Steve smirked. “I thought you said you were a pilot.”

Chuckling, Sam shook his head. “I never said pilot.”

Only letting the amazement take him over for a second longer, he shook his head and looked down. “I can’t ask you to do this, Sam.”

“Sure, you can.”

All three heads lifted at the voice and looked at the doorway behind Sam. Standing against the doorjamb was Kara, arms crossed and a determined look on her face, dressed in her usual glasses and a red blouse with black slacks.

“How the hell did you get in here?” Sam asked, immediately placing himself between her and his new friends. “Who even are you?”

She shook her hand in the air, dismissing him. “A friend…and I have my ways.”

“What are you doing here?” Steve asked her quickly, though he wasn’t exactly surprised by her presence.

She shrugged. “I thought you could use some help. And that was before I saw the news. There is no way I’m letting you get yourself even further into this mess alone.”

“I’m sorry, can someone explain to me what the hell is going on and why this woman is in my house?” Sam asked, head looking back and forth between the super soldier and the seemingly normal woman in his walkway.

Walking forward, Kara held her hand out for him to take. “Sorry about that. I’m Kara…Kara Stark.”

“As in Tony Stark?” He asked her.

“Yep. I’m his sister.” She told him. “I came as soon as Steve told me about Fury and tracked you here.”

“Wait, if she tracked you here, SHIELD is probably on their way now,” Sam said anxiously.

Shaking her head, Natasha smirked. “Kara has a…let’s say different way of tracking people that SHIELD can’t pull off. I think we’re okay.”

Finally, Sam’s eyes lit up. “Oh…you’re Cap’s girl. Interesting.”

Rolling her eyes, Kara faced her boyfriend. “Don’t even think of telling me to go home. First of all, you already know how that will go. Second, I have to bring Layna’s hero home to her, or she’ll kill me.”

“What?” Steve was confused, and it dawned on Kara that she’d never gotten the chance to talk to him about her homework assignment.

“Remind me later to tell you about the school incident,” Kara told him. “Right now, we have a government agency to take down.”

“Hey, wait,” Steve asked, confused. “That call was two nights ago. What took you so long to get here, anyway?”

“I had a few things I had to take care of before I could find you. Sorry.” She sat in a chair but didn’t sound apologetic, which was suspicious to him.

Letting it slide, he smiled at her. “Well, you’re here now. So at least we have four of us to rely on.”

Looking around the room, Natasha took that as her cue. “So, where were we?”

“The tech.” Steve reminded her. “Where can we get our hands on one of these things?”

“The last one is at Fort Meade,” Sam told them. “Behind three guarded gates and a 12-inch steel wall.”

Both Steve and Natasha looked at Kara simultaneously, once again leaving Sam confused and out of the loop.

Kara just shrugged and looked at him. “You said steel? Shouldn’t be a problem, as long as it isn’t lead.”

“No, it’s definitely steel.” The puzzled man told her. “How are you going to get them, though.”

Grinning, Kara stood. “As I said…I’ve got my ways.”


	4. Interrogating Sitwell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Panic surged up through Steve’s body as he lunged at the man across from him. Jumping forward, Natasha grabbed him and tried to pull him back as Sam dragged Sitwell away. They knew now that this mission wasn’t just about saving the world; it was about saving his family.

The sun was shining high in the sky when Senator Stern and Jasper Sitwell emerged from their lunch encounter. They had taken the time to discuss business matters of SHIELD and their upcoming projects. As they walked out of the restaurant, they ignored the agents and other security personnel that kept their distance but stayed within a reasonable distance in order to jump in at any sign of a problem.

“Listen, I got to fly home tonight,” Stern told the other man. “I’ve got some constituency problem, and I got to press the flesh.”

“Any constituent in particular, Mr. Senator?” Sitwell smirked as they started to descend a small flight of stairs.

Stern shrugged. “Oh, no, not really. Twenty-three, kind of hot.” Then he turned to him. “Real hot, you know? Wants to be a reporter, I think. I don’t know. Who listens at that point?”

Now Sitwell’s smile grew. “Doesn’t sound like much of a problem to me.”

“Really? Because she’s killing my back.” Stern joked. “But this isn’t the place to talk about it.”

Glancing down at Sitwell’s lapel, Stern nodded. “This is a nice pin.”

“Thank you,” Sitwell responded.

“Come here.” Stern smiled and pulled him in for a hug.

_“Hail HYDRA.”_

The words were whispered by the senator but accepted gratefully by the agent. It was a secret exchange that could only be spoken in secret, yet if you knew about it was plainly obvious. None of the passerby’s seemed to notice a thing.

The same could not be said for the man sitting a few yards away.

As Sitwell’s phone rang, he cleared the area once seeing it was his boss. “Yes, sir?”

_“Agent Sitwell, how was lunch? I hear the crab cakes here are delicious.”_

A sinking feeling of dread filled the agent’s stomach. “Who is this?”

 _“The good-looking guy in the sunglasses, your ten o’clock.”_ As Sitwell looked around, the man on the phone rolled his eyes. _“Your other ten o’clock. There you go.”_

“What do you want?” He asked as Sam raised his drink in the air as a pseudo greeting.

_“You’re gonna go around the corner to your right. There’s a gray car two spaces down. You and I are gonna take a ride.”_

“And why would I do that?” Sitwell asked smugly.

Sam smirked. _“Because that tie looks really expensive, and I’d hate to mess it up.”_

Looking down, Sitwell noticed that he now had a small red dot on the front of his tie. He knew it came from a sniper rifle and knew he was screwed.

* * *

The door to the building’s rooftop slammed open, and Sitwell’s body flew across the ground. He rolled a few times, and anybody watching could tell he was visibly frightened. Luckily for all parties involved, there was no one around to see his face.

Storming out from the doorway behind him, Steve showed no signs of taking pity on him. “Tell me about Zola’s algorithm.”

Standing shakily, Sitwell slid his glasses back on. “Never heard of it.”

“What were you doing on the Lemurian Star?” Steve asked again, feeling Natasha’s presence behind him.

“I was throwing up. I get seasick.” Sitwell tried again, but neither Avenger was having it.

As they backed him up to the ledge of the roof, Steve watched him flail to stay upright before grabbing him and staring him down. Sitwell chuckled as he caught on to their game.

“Is this little display meant to insinuate that you’re gonna throw me off the roof?” He grinned. “Because it’s really not your style, Rogers.”

Nodding, Steve sighed as he fixed the man’s suit. “You’re right. It’s not.” Then he paused. “It’s hers.”

Without warning, Natasha lifted her foot and slammed it into the middle of his chest, sending him over the ledge as he screamed.

“So did Kara explain what she meant about Layna’s school?” Natasha asked calmly, as if they hadn’t shoved a man off of a roof seconds beforehand.

“Nope, we didn’t get the chance,” Steve admitted. “But I’m not too worried. If it were something serious, she would have already mentioned it, so I’m assuming everything is fine.”

Suddenly the screaming got louder, and Sitwell reappeared in front of them, his body being lifted in the air by Sam, whose body was wearing his old Falcon wings.

“What do you think of our display now?” Natasha quipped as she and Steve walked towards him.

“And you better tell the truth.” The soldier told him. “Our tech genius is currently searching through all of your files, so if you lie, we’ll know about it.”

Now Sitwell broke. “Zola’s algorithm is a program for choosing Insight’s targets.”

Steve knew he was referring to SHIELD’s new project that, according to Fury, was meant to protect the planet. “What targets?”

“You!” Sitwell screamed. “Supergirl. A TV anchor in Cairo, the Under Secretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa City, Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, Kara Stark and her precious daughter, anyone who’s a threat to HYDRA now or in the future.”

Natasha looked at Steve, confused, and his expression matched hers. “In the future? How could it know?”

Now Sitwell started laughing as if the other people around him were insane. “How could it not? The 21st century is a digital book. Zola taught HYDRA how to read it.” Seeing that they didn’t completely understand it, he continued.

“Your bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, emails, phone calls, your damn SAT scores! Zola’s algorithm evaluates people’s past to predict their future.”

“And what then?” Steve asked darkly.

“Oh my God, Pierce is gonna kill me,” Sitwell said, suddenly realizing what he had just done.

“What then?” Steve asked again, and Sam grabbed the back of Sitwell’s shirt to keep him from running.

“Then the Insight helicarriers scratch people off the list.” He told them deadpanned. “A few million at a time.”

Panic surged up through Steve’s body as he lunged at the man across from him. Jumping forward, Natasha grabbed him and tried to pull him back as Sam dragged Sitwell away. They knew now that this mission wasn’t just about saving the world; it was about saving his family.

“You better hope Pierce kills you first, Sitwell,” Steve told him as he fought against Natasha’s hold. “Because if he doesn’t, and Layna dies, I will.”

“You can’t stop it!” Sitwell cried. “No matter what you do, you can’t stop this. It’s already in motion.”

“You better hope that isn’t true,” Sam told him.

Steve ignored them as he pulled out his phone and immediately dialed Kara’s number. She answered quickly.

“I already know, Steve.” She told him, her voice tight. “They aren’t getting anywhere near her.”

“But if she’s able to get sick and even get some scrapes…”

“They aren’t touching her.” The Kryptonian’s voice was stern. “And if they’re listening right now, they better hear me when I say if they do anything to her, they will all die. Slowly. One by one. Until HYDRA really is gone.”

“Be safe, please.” He told her.

“You’re the one that needs to be safe.” She reminded him. “I’ll copy this and see you soon.”

Then she was gone.

Taking in a big sigh, Steve turned to the group. “Okay, new plan. We need to meet up with Kara and figure out how to stop this.”

“I told you, you can’t-”

“Yeah, yeah, just shut up,” Sam told Sitwell as they dragged him from the roof. “Let’s go.”


	5. Captain America, Supergirl, Black Widow, and Falcon vs. The Winter Soldier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just as they thought they had no other options, they felt the weight behind them ease and looked to see that the car had been pulled from on top of them.
> 
> “I thought you could use a little help,” Supergirl told them smugly before throwing the car at the approaching Winter Soldier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the Russian translations, I used Google Translator. If they are wrong, please let me know and I'll correct it.
> 
> Also, these were short chapters so today will be a rare three-chapter day.

As they drove down the highway, the trio discussed a plan to stop the Insight’s attack on the planet. So far, nothing they had come up with would work.

“HYDRA doesn’t like leaks,” Sitwell told them, still fearing for his life.

“Then why don’t you try sticking a cork in it?” Sam suggested as he drove. “Cap, you get ahold of Kara yet?”

Shaking his head, Steve looked at his phone. “No. Which is weird, considering we both have something to lose in this.”

Leaning forward from the backseat where she sat next to Sitwell, she looked at Steve. “Insight’s launching in sixteen hours. We’re cutting it a little bit close here.”

“I know,” Steve told her. “We’ll use him to bypass the DNA scans access the helicarriers directly.”

Sitwell freaked out upon hearing this new plan. “What? Are you crazy? That is a terrible, terrible-”

Before anyone could fathom a thought, the back window on Sitwell’s side was broken, and he was thrown from the car. The trio watched as his body flew into the other lane and was hit by a semi-truck before realization hit them.

Only a second later, Natasha rolled onto Steve’s lap, pulling his body to the side while simultaneously kicking Sam away with her foot. Then the bullets hit their headrests, and they knew they were in for a bigger fight than expected.

Hitting the brakes, they watched as their car skid to a stop, and the body of the Winter Soldier flew off the roof. He rolled for a second before his hand dug into the ground and slowed journey. Natasha lifted her gun to shoot when the back of their car was plowed into by an unmarked bulletproof vehicle belonging to SHIELD

They were pushed across the road at high speed, and no amount of effort was stopping them. Just as they thought they had no other options, they felt the weight behind them ease and looked to see that the car had been pulled from on top of them.

“I thought you could use a little help,” Supergirl told them smugly before throwing the car at the approaching Winter Soldier.

Suddenly the car hit the median and was thrown into the air. Grabbing on to his friends, Steve prepared to fall. “Hang on!”

Pressing against the passenger side door, the trio felt it come loose as they fell to the asphalt. Upon hitting the ground, Natasha held tight to Steve while Sam felt his body start to detach from them. Just as he prepared to slide across the ground, he was grabbed by Supergirl and wrapped in her cape as they rolled, protecting him from being inured by the asphalt.

“Thanks.” He said as they stood and looked around them.

“Watch out.” She grabbed him again and pushed him behind her as bullets started spraying in their direction. “Get behind that car!”

He did as she told him to and ducked as the bullets started to hit his new shield. He watched as the alien used her heat vision and freeze breath to get the agents off of him before hurrying to his side. “Are you hit?”

“No, I’m good.” He told her honestly, looking around for other threats.

They heard a loud bang and looked up in time to see Steve fly off the bridge. “No!”

“He’ll be okay,” Sam told her. “He always is.”

“Yeah, I know, but still.” She replied. “By the way, if you have a plan, now would be a really good time to get started.”

“I do, but I also need to get in touch with our techie, so she knows what’s happening.” He said quickly, grabbing a discarded gun from the ground.

“Something tells me she already knows,” Supergirl smirked. “You good here?”

“Yep, I got it. You go cover Cap.” Sam told her, already starting to shoot at other hostiles.

Without replying, Kara shot into the air, blasting some of the men as she went. Flying to the ground, she heard the Winter Soldier speak to his comrade in Russian.

_Она у меня. Найдите его._

She knew that he was saying he would be going after Nat, and Kara couldn’t let him do that. As he landed on the car below him, he hit the ground in front of him, denting the asphalt. He jumped down off the car and threw a punch at her face that hit, but barely fazed her.

"Слово совета: если вы собираетесь ударить меня, ударил меня сильнее. Потому что, если вы собираетесь нокаутировать меня вам лучше сделать это в первый раз ".

_(“Word of advice: if you’re going to hit me, hit me harder. Because if you’re going to knock me out you better do it the first time.”)_

The soldier’s eyes widened a bit at that, and it gave Kara the perfect opportunity to kick him with enough strength to make him fly into the side of the bridge. Nodding in victory, she heard the creak of a bus near her and turned in time to see three guards rapid firing at her boyfriend as he flew out one of the windows and grabbed his shield.

Using her super speed, she raced over and covered him before blowing everyone back. Then she reached behind her, grabbed his shirt, and threw him forward at one of the men. She quickly followed behind to attack the others that were advancing on them.

Just as she took down the second soldier, she heard Steve’s voice whisper from far away. “Go help Nat. I got this.”

Without hesitation, she flew off into the sky to locate her friend. The second she saw her, she also saw the Winter Soldier headed in her direction and grew angry.

“This guy is seriously starting to piss me off.” She said aloud to only herself.

She heard Nat’s voice fill her ears about a rendezvous point, but as she looked at the woman, her lips didn’t move. Smirking, she knew the redhead had set a trap and waited to see what would happen. She watched as he fell for it, thinking he’d gotten her, but then realizing the truth.

When Natasha made her appearance, Kara shot down to help. The fight didn’t last long, but it did result in the unfortunate bullet hole in Nat’s shoulder. Waving her away, Kara distracted the man just long enough for him to lose sight of her.

Knowing now that his bullets wouldn’t harm her, he tripped her up and grabbed her around the neck with his metal arm. As she went to rip it off, she saw Steve racing over, and then her body was thrown through the air before it crashed into a heap of deserted cars.

Groaning, she lifted herself on one arm and watched as the men fought each other. It was only when Steve got the upper hand and knocked the other soldier away did his mask fly off, and he hesitated.

Speeding over to Steve, she crouched next to him. “You okay?”

“Been better.” He said truthfully. “You?”

“You know I am.”

They watched as the Winter Soldier slowly rose from the ground before turning to look at them. She felt Steve’s body tense immediately and looked at him in concern. His face was pale, and his eyes were sad.

“Bucky?”

“What?” Kara whispered to herself as she looked back at the man.

The soldier stared at them. “Who the hell is Bucky?”

The couple stood in shock, and as the soldier raised his gun to shoot, Sam flew in out of nowhere and knocked him away. Realizing he was outnumbered, he raised his weapon at them, causing Kara to block Steve. Then he shot at the truck behind them, causing a distraction big enough for him to escape.

Turning, they saw Natasha injured and hiding behind another car as she made her way over to them. In the distance, but growing ever closer, they heard sirens, and Steve turned to Kara. “Get out of here.”

“Steve…”

“Go. We’ll figure this out.”

Knowing they were caught, but also knowing she couldn’t do anything about it, she growled. “Fine. But at least give me this.”

Grabbing his shield, she shot over to Sam ripped the pack that held his wings off his back. Ignoring his complaint, she watched as the cars pulled up before shooting into the air and disappearing faster than they could think. Though they held their guns in her direction, no one fired anything, knowing it would not have any effect on her.

Then they turned their guns to Sam, Steve, and Natasha. These three they had cornered.

* * *

“It was him,” Steve told his friends as the sat handcuffed in reinforced steel in the back of a SHIELD armored van. “He looked right at me like he didn’t even know me.”

“How’s that even possible?” Sam asked. “It was, like, seventy years ago.”

“Zola,” Steve muttered. “Bucky’s whole unit was captured in ’43. Zola experimented on him. Whatever he did helped Bucky survive the fall. They must have found him and…”

He trailed off as Natasha spoke. “None of that’s your fault, Steve.”

“Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky.” He said sadly.

Natasha leaned her head back in pain, and Sam saw the blood flowing out of her shoulder. “We need to get a doctor here. If we don’t put pressure on that wound, she’s gonna bleed out here in the truck.”

The agent closest to them lit up a HYDRA weapon that had Sam cringing back. Then they swung the taser around and stung their fellow soldier until he fell to the floor.

Taking off her helmet, Maria groaned. “Ah…that thing was squeezing my brain.” Then she saw Sam. “Who is this guy?”

“A friend,” Steve told her. “God, am I happy to see you.”

“Do you guys just know like, everybody?” Sam asked incredulously.

Smirking at his confusion, Steve shook his head. “What do you say we get out of here?”


	6. Unfortunate Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Wait a minute,” Sam said in shock before smacking Steve. “You didn’t tell me your girl was a Stark and Supergirl.”
> 
> “Secret identity and all that.” She told him with a shrug. “But from now on, just call me Kara.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I lied. I just realized that I probably won't be able to post much this weekend because I'm helping run a multi-family garage sale so I'm going to post one more chapter after this and then you won't hear from me for a few days.
> 
> Don't worry--I'll be back soon with your regularly scheduled updates.

Exiting the van, Steve made sure to help Natasha to the ground as she cradled her shoulder. She’d gone without medical care for long enough that her wound could be severe and he wanted to make sure she got help as soon as possible.

Looking at Maria, he walked alongside his friends. “Kara’s out there somewhere with our gear. We should probably get a message to her.”

Ignoring his statement, Maria yelled ahead to the doctor that was running up to them. “GSW. She’s lost at least a pint.”

“Maybe two,” Sam added from behind them.

“Let me take her.” The man said in a rush, but Maria interrupted him.

“She’ll want to see him first.”

“See who?” Steve asked quickly but was again ignored.

Walking up to a bunch of clear tarps hanging from the wall, they slowed as Maria pushed the tarps aside, revealing none other than Nick Fury himself.

“About damn time.”

“What the fuck?” Both Steve and Nat spoke at the same time.

* * *

“Lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver, and one hell of a headache.” Fury listed off his injuries.

As the doctor worked on Natasha’s wound, he looked up at the one-eyed man. “Don’t forget your collapsed lung.”

“Let’s not forget that.” Fury joked dryly. “Otherwise, I’m good.”

“They cut you open. Your heart stopped.” Natasha told him, voice full of emotion.

“Tetrodotoxin B.” He told her. “Slows the pulse to one beat a minute. Banner developed it for stress. Didn’t work so great for him, but we found a use for it.”

“But how did you manage to even find this place without anyone at SHIELD knowing about it?” Sam asked.

Fury grunted. “We had some help.”

“I told you I had to make a stop first.” Turning in the direction of the voice, the trio watched as Kara walked up in her suit. “The perimeter is clear. They didn’t follow you.”

Then she threw her arms around Steve and hugged him tightly. “While I was hacking the files from SHIELD and HYDRA, I overheard the call sent out to stop you guys. There wasn’t enough time to contact you, so I just took off to your location and called Maria.”

“Wait a minute,” Sam said in shock before smacking Steve. “You didn’t tell me your girl was a Stark _and_ Supergirl.”

“Secret identity and all that.” She told him with a shrug. “But from now on, just call me Kara.”

Glancing at his girlfriend, Steve addressed Fury again. “Why all the secrecy? Why not just tell us?”

“Any attempt on the Director’s life had to look successful,” Maria told them.

“Can’t kill you if you’re already dead.” He added. “Besides, I wasn’t sure who to trust.”

Kara frowned as Natasha looked away sadly, and Steve spoke again. “So why tell Kara? How did she know, and why didn’t she tell us?”

“Rogers-” Maria started, but Kara cut her off.

“It’s okay I got this.” She took a deep breath to calm herself. “You do know I’m standing right here, Steve?”

“Then explain it to us.” He said, anger slipping into his voice.

She had enough humanity to feel guilty and let it show on her face. “After you called to tell me about what happened with Fury, I was already planning on flying out here. Then my phone rang, and it said it was you, but it was actually Maria. She’d cloaked the lines to make it look like you were calling to grieve again in case anyone was tracking it.

“She told me what happened and that they needed a secure place to hunker down. They knew I could find them one because of the whole x-ray vision thing. I’m the only one who could know for sure if it was safe.”

“Besides,” Fury groaned from his bed. “I knew she would never join HYDRA and their crazy crusade after everything that happened with Krypton.”

“That is the only reason I know anything, Steve. Otherwise, I would never have known anything either.” She told him honestly.

Looking at all of them, the super-soldier turned and walked away. Knowing better than to follow, Kara stood and watched him leave, a look of despair on her face. Walking over to her, Sam put his hand on her shoulder as Natasha spoke.

“Kara, don’t worry about it. He’ll be fine in a little bit once he comes to his senses.” She told her friend.

“Will he?” The blonde asked sadly, and she felt Sam’s hand tighten in sympathy on her shoulder.

The doctor told Natasha that she was good to go but then stood suddenly. “Hey, you can’t get up yet!”

Turning, they all saw Fury ignoring the man’s orders as he rose from the bed. “We don’t have any more time to waste. The helicarriers launch in a matter of hours, and we have to stop them.”

“We have to talk.” He told the group. “Maria will show you the way.”

Then he struggled into his signature trench coat and walked out.

* * *

“For someone who religiously took and gave orders for so long, it surprises me that you would be upset when someone else did the exact same thing.”

Not bothering to turn around, Steve grunted. “Yeah, well, I didn’t expect that person to be my girlfriend.”

Fury nodded and leaned against the wall. “I ordered her not to tell you anything. We weren’t sure who was listening or who could be trusted.”

“Excuse me?” Steve whirled around at that statement.

Fury held up his hand. “By ‘we,’ I meant Maria and I. Kara argued and defended you at every turn. So I persuaded her hand by telling her of what Pierce was and how he would kill you in an instant if you knew I was alive.

“The plan was always to bring you here. We had to wait to make sure Romanoff was still on our side, but we knew you were most likely not involved. It had to look real, Rogers. Your actions, your reactions, everything. If it even seemed slightly off, Pierce would know, and we would be in an even bigger mess than we are now.

“Far be it for me to get in the middle of someone’s relationship, but this is the life we are living now, Rogers. Sometimes these things need to play out this way in order for us to keep the world safe.”

“So, you’re saying we have to sacrifice our relationships and everything we hold dear to save everyone else in the world?” He asked the director.

“No. What I’m saying is that sometimes we have to take a step back and realize that we all have a part to play in this war.” Walking forward, Fury shook his head. “I can’t tell you how to feel about this. I just wanted you to know that she didn’t follow orders easily. The rest…well, that’s on you.”

They both looked up at the sound of someone clearing their throat and saw Kara standing in the doorway. No one spoke for a minute, but her eyes met Fury’s, and he understood the unspoken request she was asking of him.

“In any case, we have a job to finish and a world to save.” He told them both. “Meet us there in five minutes. You know the way.”

Then he strode out and left the out of sorts couple alone in a silence that was louder than either of them had known in their lifetimes.


	7. Creating the Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “SHIELD, HYDRA, it all goes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, here you go! As much as I want to post another chapter (because I absolutely love the opening scene) I am holding off until after my garage sale.
> 
> I know it's an obscure line, but if anybody can guess what Kara's plan is at the end of the chapter, I could possibly be persuaded to post another sometime during the weekend. Here's a hint: it comes from a scene in a Supergirl episode.
> 
> Happy guessing!

Walking further into the room, Kara leaned against the wall and folded her hands together in front of her. The feeling inside of her was one of uncertainty, anguish, guilt, and pain as she watched Steve slowly. She hadn’t felt this way in a long time, and she didn’t like it at all. But she also knew she was in the wrong, and she didn’t know how he would react to that. So she waited for him to make the first move.

“Is Layna safe?”

She looked up at him as he spoke, his voice sounding hurt and rough. Her heart warmed a little at the thought that his first priority was Layna, but it didn’t warm the rest of her as it usually would.

Nodding, she stayed away from him against the wall. “I spoke to Tony before you arrived here. They’re protecting her. If it comes to it, Bruce has no problem Hulking out and covering her.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

She knew the question was coming, but she still dreaded it. “I should have.”

He looked up at her. “But?”

“But, I didn’t.” She shrugged. “I was going to tell you when I saw you. But when I got to Sam’s place, there were spots of lead where I couldn’t check for bugs, and you were already knee-deep in a plan to take them down, and you were so upset. Then you were having me hack SHIELD, and everything happened so fast.”

This time she made herself push off the wall as she took a few steps closer to him. “It killed me to keep this from you, but I had to, Steve.”

“You had to?” He asked loudly. “You had to keep something like this a secret?”

“Yes, I did. I had to because I’ve seen this whole situation before.” Now she had his attention. “On Krypton with my grandfather.

“When I was about seven, I was taking a walk with my grandfather through the street of Krypton. During our walk, he was shot right in front of me.”

Now his face fell. “Kara…”

She shook her head. “This isn’t an excuse or a way to turn this around for my own comfort.

“I was sure he was dead. I could even hear the guards in our palace talking about it on their shift changes. I was absolutely devastated. Then my parents came to my room, and I knew what they were going to say. I was wrong. He was alive and being cared for in the palace medical wing. I was ecstatic.

“A few days later, before I even got to see him, someone we called a friend snuck into his room and stabbed him to death in his healing bed. I needed to make sure Fury was going to live and that he was safe before I gave you that false hope. Can you understand that?”

“Of course, I can.” He told her and grabbed her hand. “I’m sorry you went through that.”

“I’m sorry I kept any of this from you.” She told him again. “I should have told you. Once you guys were attacked on the highway, I knew that the jig was up, and you had to know. I was going to tell you once we all got away, but obviously, that isn’t how things turned out.

“That situation with my grandfather…” She paused, and he squeezed her hand. “That whole thing still haunts me, and you can hate me if you want, but I wasn’t going to do that to you. So you can do whatever you want with that information; if you want to…end us or not…but, I’m standing by my decision.

“Was that really Bucky?” She asked then, hoping to delay what she knew was coming.

Steve’s heart fell into his stomach, and he reached for her instantly, pulling her body to his own. “You thought I was going to leave you?”

“I just…”

“Kara.” His eyes were even sadder now. “You and Layna are the only good things in my life. It’s going to take a hell of a lot more than this to tear us apart.

“I understand why you did it. This whole situation is just completely messed up. I could never have imagined I would be fighting HYDRA again. And Zola? Now Bucky…”

She bit her lip. “I’m so sorry, babe. You’re sure it was him?”

“Yeah. It was him.” He said brokenly. “And I’m going to have to fight him again. What am I going to do?”

“You aren’t going to do anything. We are going to find him and fix him. We’ll get your old Bucky back.” She told him. “You both deserve that much.”

“What did I do to deserve you?” He asked her, kissing her forehead.

She smiled. “That is a whole different can of worms for another day. Now come on, Fury has been working on a plan to take them down, and if we’re late, we’ll never hear the end of it.”

She started to lead him out of the room when he tugged her back. “Kara…I also have a plan. But there’s something we need to talk about.”

Looking at him with curiosity, she waited as he explained what they would have to do.

* * *

Sitting at their makeshift briefing table, Kara watched as Fury opened a file and held up a picture of a much younger looking Alexander Pierce. Behind her, Steve stood with his hands on the back of her chair in silence.

“This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He said peace wasn’t an achievement; it was a responsibility.” He dropped the picture and leaned forward in his seat. “See, it’s stuff like this that gives me trust issues.”

“We have to stop the launch,” Natasha said from her seat across from Kara.

“I don’t think the Council’s accepting my calls anymore.” Fury told her.

Then he opened a secure case holding three oversized microchips.

“What’s that?” Sam asked from behind Nat.

Maria sighed. “Once the helicarriers reach 3,000 feet, they’ll triangulate with Insight satellites, becoming fully weaponized.”

“We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own,” Fury added to her information.

Nodding, Maria spoke again. “One or two won’t cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work because if even one of those ships remains operational, a whole lot of people are gonna die.”

Pushing the image of Krypton’s last moments out of her mind, Kara felt Steve squeeze her shoulder. She reached a hand up to hold his but remained silent.

“We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is HYDRA.” Fury warned them. “We have to get past them, insert those server blades, and maybe, just maybe we can salvage what’s left…”

“We’re not salvaging anything,” Steve said suddenly, glancing at Kara. “We’re not just taking down the carriers, Nick. We’re taking down SHIELD.”

She nodded at him to show that she was behind his decision as Fury defending his position. “SHIELD had nothing to do with this.”

“You gave me this mission,” Steve told him firmly. “This is how it ends. SHIELD’s been compromised. You said so yourself. HYDRA grew right under your nose, and nobody noticed.”

“Why do you think we’re meeting in this cave?” Fury shot back. “I noticed.”

“How many paid the price before you did?” Kara asked quietly.

Fury looked at her in equal parts guilt and anger. “This isn’t like Krypton…”

“This isn’t about Krypton!” She said firmly. “This is about people now, here, on this planet. This isn’t an ecological problem that is being ignored. These are people who are doing the destroying. What about all of the people they killed?”

Looking down, Fury sighed before setting his gaze on Steve. “Look, I didn’t know about Barnes.”

“Even if you had, would you have told me?” The soldier asked him. “Or would you have compartmentalized that, too?”

There was no response.

“SHIELD, HYDRA, it all goes.” He said again; he wasn’t taking no for an answer.

“He’s right,” Maria whispered.

Fury looked at each person individually. Maria and Natasha both had looks of agreement, while Sam just shrugged.

“Don’t look at me,” He told Fury. “I do what he does, just slower.”

Then he looked at Kara. “You know what this means, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do.” She confirmed without having to ask. “If this is what it takes to bring them down, then it’s time.”

Shaking his head, Fury looked down again. “Well, it looks like you’re giving the orders now, Captain.”

“We know what we need to do with the blades.” Steve started giving orders.

Once he was finished, Sam spoke up. “Okay, that all sounds great, but even the weakest entrance is going to have guards. How are we going to get past them?”

Kara smirked. “I had an idea for that.”

“Care to share with the class?” Fury asked her.

Turning to him, she cocked an eyebrow. “I saw that old cruiser parked outside…how attached are you to it?”


	8. The Price of Freedom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I know I’m asking a lot. But the price of freedom is high. It always has been. And it’s a price I’m willing to pay. And if I’m the only one, then so be it. But I’m willing to bet I’m not.”

SHIELD was abuzz as everyone was getting ready for the launch of the helicarriers. On the main floor, Pierce walked through the lobby with the rest of the Council by his side.

“And how was your flight?” He asked as they headed to their destination.

Councilwoman Hawley shrugged. “Lovely. The ride from the airport, less so.”

Shaking his head, Pierce sighed. “Sadly, SHIELD can’t control everything.”

“Including Captain America.” Added Councilman Rockwell. “And now, it seems, that list includes Supergirl as well.”

Giving him a look, Pierce ignored the comment and gave them each a badge. “This facility is biometrically controlled, and these will give you unrestricted access.”

As the council put on their badges, they were unaware of the commotion happening outside the weakest entrance of their facility.

“So I told her I’d be late, and what do you think she said?” The first guard asked his partner.

The other man shrugged. “Let me guess; she freaked out.”

“Bingo!” The first man said. “You’d think that celebrating a huge accomplishment at work would earn me a little bit of free time, but apparently not.”

The second man was about to speak when he paused. “Hey, do you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

His face showed confusion. “It sounds like…Britney Spears?”

_Oh, baby baby, how was I supposed to know that something wasn’t right here._

Confusion crossed their faces, and the guards watched as a blue cruiser pulled up close to them with a smiling Supergirl behind the wheel. “Hi! Hi…”

“What the hell?” The first man asked as they slowly walked forward with their guns drawn. “What do you think you are doing?”

“Uh…I’m uh, I’m sorry to bother you during, um, whatever it is you are doing,” Kara told them as she leaned over the driver’s side door. “But I think I took a wrong turn at Krypton and…ugh, can any of you give me directions back to New York?”

She got out of the car with the music still playing, and the guards pointed their guns at her. “Stand down!”

Walking forward casually, she ignored them and continued with her story. “You know, I thought I took that tunnel, but my GPS is all screwed up down here, and it keeps trying to get me to make a suicidal left turn.”

“I said, stand down!” The guard yelled again.

Still smiling, she put her hands on her hips. “You might want to check your rearview.”

Spinning around, both guards were instantly knocked out by Steve and Sam, while Maria held her gun on them. As the unconscious men fell to the floor, Steve looked at her.

“Good distraction.”

She shrugged. “Hey, what can I say, I grew up with Tony.”

Walking forward, she fried the DNA lock on the door, allowing her to pry the door open. Then she turned back to her friends. “Be careful and call if you need me.”

“Will do.” He told her. “Now let’s get into position. It won’t be long until they discover we’re here.”

Nodding her consent, she shot off into the sky and waited for her cue. It didn’t take long before she heard Steve’s voice echoing from every intercom on base.

_“Attention, all SHIELD agents, this is Steve Rogers. You’ve heard a lot about me over the last few days. Some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it’s time you know the truth._

_“SHIELD is not what we thought it was. It’s been taken over by HYDRA; Alexander Pierce is their leader. The STRIKE and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don’t know how many more, but I know they’re in the building. They could be standing right next to you._

_“They almost have what they want: absolute control. They shot Nick Fury…and it won’t end there. If you launch those helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way. Unless we stop them._

_“I know I’m asking a lot. But the price of freedom is high. It always has been. And it’s a price I’m willing to pay. And if I’m the only one, then so be it. But I’m willing to bet I’m not.”_

Kara watched from above as the agents on the airstrip pulled their guns on each other in panic. Inside, she could hear Sam talking to Steve.

_“Did you write that down first, or was that off the top of your head?”_

Smirking, she waited as the agents tried to figure out what to do. Hearing a door slam open, she saw a group of agents walk out with their guns drawn and knew they were HYDRA when they started to fire on the other group.

Shooting her heat vision on the ground in front of them, she swept down and started to fight as many of them as she could. They knew the fight was coming, and now she knew it was here.

Then suddenly, a loud grinding noise filled her ears, and after taking down the last of the agents, she shot back into the sky and groaned. “Uh, guys, we have an issue!”

“What is it?” Steve’s voice rang through her comm device.

Maria answered for her. “They’re initiating launch.”

Outside, Steve and Sam ran next to each other towards the carriers.

“Hey, Cap, how do we know the good guys from the bad guys?”

“If they’re shooting at you, they’re bad,” Steve grunted. “Supergirl?”

“On it.”

Knowing she had to stall the carriers, she flew off in the direction of their ascent and prepared to slam through the closest one to her. Holding both fists out in front of her, she pushed herself to fly faster and rammed right through the side of it.

It took a moment for her to realize the screaming she heard was coming from her. Falling, she crashed into the asphalt of the airstrip, leaving a massive crater in it.

“Kara!”

She recognized Steve’s shout but could only groan in response.

“I’ve got her.” Sam’s voice said.

He landed quickly next to her, and his wings retracted back into his pack. “Kara, hey, what happened?”

Hissing, she looked at him. “It’s lined with Kryptonite.”

Looking down at her arms, he could see the glowing green pieces sticking out of her skin. “I’m gonna get them out, just hang on, okay?”

Moments later, the pieces were out, and Sam was tossing them into his pack to hide them from her. She was on her feet immediately and nodding to him in thanks. “I’m good.”

“Stay back and keep the fire off of Sam,” Steve told her. “We’ll figure out a way to get you in.”

She shrugged at Sam. “You heard the man.”

“Let’s go, Supergirl.”

Then the both shot into the sky as explosions rained down on them. Kara used whatever power she could to keep the fire off of Sam as he raced toward his designated carrier.

“Falcon, status?” Maria asked him as he dodged bullets.

“Engaging.” He shouted over the noise.

Landing on the deck, Sam shot some guards and started to move to the main control panel. “Alright, Cap, I’m in.”

Then he turned and saw a fighter jet headed his way. Taking off again, he tried to shake it off but couldn’t. Just when he thought he was done for, he turned in time to see the jet fly off into the air.

“That makes us even!” Kara shouted to him with a smirk before turning and flying away.

* * *

In the briefing room, Pierce was being held at gunpoint while Natasha hacked into all of SHIELD’s regular and secured files.

“What is she doing?” Asked a member of the council.

“She’s disabling security protocols and dumping all the secrets onto the internet,” Pierce told him.

“Including HYDRA’s,” Natasha added.

“And SHIELD’s.” Pierce reminded her. “If you do this, none of your past is gonna remain hidden. Are you sure you’re ready for the world to see you as you really are?”

Looking up at him, Natasha barely blinked. “Are you?”

* * *

“Eight minutes, Cap,” Maria told them hurriedly.

A few moments later, he responded. “Alpha lock.”

“Falcon, where are you now?”

“Had to take a detour.” He yelled over the wind as he flew. “Give me a minute.”

Kara saw that there were missiles following him, so she took off in his direction and blocked some of the worst ones from hitting him. Only a minute later, he was blasting a hole into the ship and confirming his actions. “Bravo lock.”

“Supergirl, you’re the last one,” Maria told her. “Think you can find a way in?”

“On it,” Kara responded.

“Kara, you can’t. You’ll never get through it without getting hurt.” Steve panted through the comms, telling her he was in the middle of the fight.

“I have no choice.” She told him as she shot towards her target. “I’ll find a way it.”

As she shot up to her target, she saw a fire of bullets go past her, blowing open a hole in its side. “You’re welcome.”

She laughed at Sam’s comment but continued on her journey. Once she got to the bridge of the ship, she stopped in her tracks.

“Hey, Steve?”

“Yeah?” He sounded out of breath.

“We’ve got company.” She said calmly. “I’ve got Bucky on the bridge in front of me.”


	9. The Bridge Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey, Steve?”
> 
> “Yeah?”
> 
> “We’ve got company. I’ve got Bucky on the bridge in front of me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided I'm going to post the rest of the story today. I'll start posting the next one soon.

Inside the building, Natasha tried her best to dump any file she found onto the internet for the world to see. For them to really bring down HYDRA, everything had to be out in the open where nothing could hide. The internet seemed like the best place to do that.

As a restricted access warning flashed on the screen, Pierce moved closer to her. “Disabling the encryption is an executive order. It takes two Alpha level members.”

“Don’t worry.” She smirked. “Company’s coming.”

As she finished speaking, the sound of helicopter blades could be heard, and the room watched through the glass doors as it landed on the helipad. Shaking his head, Pierce watched as Fury walked into the room and stared him down.

“Did you get my flowers?” The smug man wondered sarcastically. “I’m glad you’re here, Nick.”

“Really?” Fury wondered as he walked forward. “Because I thought you had me killed.”

“You know how the game works.” Pierce defended.

“So why make me head of SHIELD?” Fury asked him honestly.

“Because you were the best,” Pierce said without hesitation. “and the most ruthless person I ever met.”

“I did what I did to protect people.” Fury growled darkly.

Pierce shrugged. “Our enemies are your enemies, Nick. Disorder. War. It’s just a matter of time before a dirty bomb goes off in Moscow, or an EMP fries Chicago. Diplomacy? A holding action; a band-aid. And you know where I learned that. Bogota.

“You didn’t ask; you just did what had to be done. I can bring order to the lives of seven billion people by sacrificing twenty million. Isn’t that worth the sacrifice?”

“I have a friend who would say otherwise.” Fury told him.

“It’s the next step, Nick. If you have the courage to take it.”

Fury sighed. “No. I have the courage not to.”

Grabbing Pierce by the arm, they walked over to the screens behind them as Natasha pulled up the retinal scanner before training her gun on him.

Pierce chuckled. “You don’t think we’ve wiped your clearance from the system?”

“I know you erased my password.” Fury scoffed. “Probably deleted my retinal scan. But if you want to stay ahead of me, Mr. Secretary, you need to keep both eyes open.”

Lifting his eye patch, Fury glared at the other man. He waited as Pierce shrugged, humoring him, before hearing the computer’s response.

_Alpha level confirmed. Safeguards removed._

A look of surprise fell onto his face that it had worked, and he glanced at Fury in shock as the files started to download into the world.

* * *

Outside, Steve waited as Kara spoke into the comms. _“Hey, Steve?”_

“Yeah?”

_“We’ve got company. I’ve got Bucky on the bridge in front of me.”_

With his heart beating wildly, Steve took off running as guards followed behind him. “Hey, Sam? I’m gonna need a ride.”

“Roger. Let me know when you’re ready.”

“I just did,” Steve said as he dove off of the ship into midair.

* * *

Up on the bridge, Kara stared down the former best friend of her boyfriend. She knew he was dangerous, even for someone like her, but he was in the way of her mission, and she had to tread lightly.

“Bucky, you don’t have to do this.”

He glared at her. “I’m not Bucky.”

“Yes, you are.” She implored earnestly. “Your name is James Buchanan Barnes. Your best friend is Steve Rogers, my boyfriend. Whatever HYDRA did to you, this is the real you. You need to snap out of it.”

“No!” He shouted at her. “You cannot stay in the way of this.”

“Then, I have no choice.” She said regrettably.

“I wonder what will get you killed faster,” He inquired. “your loyalty or your stubbornness?”

“Both.”

Shooting her heat vision at him, he held his metal hand out and deflected it. Pushing forward against her powers, he smacked her in the face, grabbing her around the neck with his metal arm.

“Is it necessary to hold that lady so tightly?”

Looking up, Bucky watched Steve for a moment as the consciousness left Kara’s body. Throwing her body off the bridge, the men heard it hit the glass below, leaving a crack along the floor.

“Please don’t make me do this,” Steve begged his friend.

Then the fight began. Steve threw his shield, and it bounced off of Bucky’s arm like it was nothing but a piece of plastic. Throwing punch after punch, Steve heard a gunshot go off and instantly felt a stinging in his side. Knowing he’d been hit, he knocked Bucky out of the way and onto the ground.

Taking a deep breath, he walked to the panel and raised the blade to insert it. He was taken by surprise as Bucky attacked again, and the blade went flying along the bridge. They continued to fight, and the blade fell off the bridge onto the lower deck near Kara’s body.

Reaching for it, Bucky tackled him, and they went flying off as well. Landing hard enough to continue the crack in the glass, they fought as hard as they could until Bucky stabbed him, and Steve choked him until he passed out.

Grabbing the blade, he ran off to insert it into the panel before anything else could get in his way. Just as he was getting to the panel, he heard another gunshot and felt multiple bullets enter his legs. Then he felt one in his stomach and couldn’t move.

“Thirty seconds, Cap.”

He couldn’t respond and waited for the worst to happen. Then, as he counted down in his head from ten, he heard a voice above him.

“Charlie lock.”

Lifting his head, he saw Kara standing above him, glaring at Bucky.

“Good job. Now get out of there.” Maria ordered them.

Kara knelt to help Steve up, and he groaned. “You need to get out of here.”

“So do you.” She told him. “Now, come on.”

“Hill, blow it.”

“But Steve…”

“Do it!”

Kara stared at him. “Steve…”

The ships shook as the blasts attacked them, and he looked at her confidently. “We have to help him, Kara.”

They heard a yell of pain and looked down to see Bucky trapped under the debris from the ship. Looking at each other, Steve winced.

“Please, Kara.”

Nodding, she kissed him. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He replied. “Now, go help the others.”

Staring at him for only a second more, she turned and flew off. As she got outside, she finally saw what their plan had caused and grimaced. “Guys, need a hand?”

“Romanoff and I are fine up here. Pierce is dead.” Fury informed her, and she couldn’t help but feel a little happy about that piece of news.

“Kara, Sam is on the 41st floor. He’s fighting Rumlow down there, and he needs a quick escape.” Maria told her urgently.

“On my way.” Flying to that side of the building, she used her x-ray vision to look for her friend and saw him running from the ship that had broken into the structure. “Shit.”

“I need some help here!” Sam yelled and launched himself out the window.

Shooting down to where he was falling, she reached her arm out and grabbed him around the waist. Slowing their descent to the ground, she looked up at the wreckage of the ships and shook her head.

“Steve, tell me you are out of there.” There was no response. “Does anybody have a visual on Steve?”

“Negative,” Maria said from her point of view. “I think he’s still on the ship.”

“Then, I’m going back up,” Kara said and prepared to pounce.

“You can’t!” Sam grabbed her arm. “With that much Kryptonite in the air, you’ll be grounded in an instant.”

“I don’t care!” She yelled back at him. “I can’t leave him up there.”

As she spoke, she looked up in time to see his shield fall from the carrier and her heart dropped. Sam’s arm went around her in comfort as tears filled her eyes. Another explosion happened, and they watched as Steve’s body fell as well.

Knowing Sam was right, that she would be grounded as soon she tried to fly to him, all she could do was watch as his body hit the water and sunk. Once the air cleared a little, she looked at Sam, and he nodded.

“Go get our guy.” He told her. “We’ll be right behind you.”

Without responding, she took off and stayed closer to the ground as she flew in his direction. Once she was over the water, she nearly hesitated at what she saw.

His body was on the shore, and Bucky was standing above him. She landed slowly and knelt next to her boyfriend. Laying her hand on his chest to make sure he was breathing, she looked up at the long-haired man.

“I know him.”

He said it quietly, but because of her super hearing, she heard it clear as day. “Yes, you do.”

Staring at his body for only one more second, Bucky turned and walked away. Kara didn’t bother to follow him as she knew he was no longer a threat to anyone. If anything, she felt bad for the man. He couldn’t remember his own identity, and that was something she could imagine was painful.

Looking down at Steve, her heart leapt into her throat. “You’ll be okay. I promise you…you will be okay.”

Then she let herself cry.


	10. Senate Hearing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Yes, the world is a vulnerable place. Every world is. And yes, we help make it that way. But we’re also the ones best qualified to defend it.
> 
> “So if you want to arrest us, arrest us. You’ll know where to find us.”

_“Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?”_

_“I do.”_

Wearing a form-fitting black dress with green and pink accents, Kara sat next to Natasha in front of a full Senate hearing. Her blonde hair hung around her shoulders, and her glasses were in place on her face. Her hands were folded on the desk in front of her.

“Why haven’t we yet heard from Captain Rogers?” One committee member asked them.

Glancing at Kara, Natasha sighed. “I don’t know what there is left for him to say. I think the wreck in the middle of the Potomac made his point fairly eloquently.”

“Well, he could explain how this country is expected to maintain its national security now that he and you have laid waste to our intelligence apparatus.”

“HYDRA was selling you lies, not intelligence,” Kara added in.

“Many of which Agent Romanoff here has had a personal hand in telling.” The head of the hearing shot back at them.

Another man leaned forward. “Agent, you should know that there are some on this committee who feel, given your service record both for this country and against it, that you belong in a penitentiary. Not mouthing off on Capitol Hill.”

“I’d like to state for the record that while Agent Romanoff has done various things throughout her life, she has dedicated and even risked that life in order to keep this country and all of its people safe. That happens to include the people on this committee. So I would take that into account, don’t you think?” Kara stared the man down.

“Then there is the matter of you, Miss Stark. Or is it Miss Zor-El?” He turned to look at her. “You aren’t even from here! We should be locking you away as well in a prison that can hold you! You aren’t human…you shouldn’t even get the same rights as the rest of us.”

“Be that as it may, what have I done since I came to this planet? Destroyed it? Tried to kill people? No, that would be your own people.”

“You’re not going to throw us in a prison.” Natasha continued for her. “You’re not going to put any of us in a prison. You know why?”

“Do enlighten us.”

“Because you need us,” Kara replied with a smirk.

“Yes, the world is a vulnerable place. Every world is. And yes, we help make it that way. But we’re also the ones best qualified to defend it.

“So if you want to arrest us, arrest us. You’ll know where to find us.”

Standing, the women turned on the committee and walked out side by side. Cameras flashed around them as they left the courtroom and made their way to their car. They knew they had given the committee many things to think about, and they were confident that they would make the right decision.

* * *

At the cemetery, Steve and Sam stood next to a grave that was covered in white flowers. Then they heard footsteps behind them and turned to see Fury coming in their direction.

“So, you’ve experienced this sort of thing before.”

Steve shrugged. “You get used to it.”

Looking down at his own headstone, Fury sighed. “We’ve been data mining HYDRA’s files. Looks like a lot of rats didn’t go down with the ship.

“I’m headed to Europe tonight. I wanted to ask if you’d come.”

Steve thought about it before shaking his head. “You know I can’t.”

Nodding, Fury turned to Sam. “How about you, Wilson? I could use a man with your abilities.”

Looking at Steve, Sam shuffled his feet. “I’m more of a soldier than a spy.”

“Alright, then.” Fury chuckled. “If anybody asks for me, tell them they can find me, right here.”

As he walked away, another voice made the men turn around. “You should be honored. That’s about as close as he gets to saying thank you.”

They watched as Natasha approached them with Kara a few feet behind her. She was still wearing her dress as they’d come right from the senate hearing, but she’d switched her heels out for a pair of gym shoes.

“Not going with him?” Steve asked the redhead.

Shaking her head, she smiled. “No.”

“Not staying here.” It was a question.

“Nah. I blew all my covers. I got to go figure out a new one.” She told him.

“That might take a while.” He remarked.

“I’m counting on it.” She paused. “That thing you asked for…I called in a few favors from Kyiv. Will you do me a favor? Go home to your family.”

“I plan on doing nothing else.” He told her, and she squinted her eyes at him.

“Uh-huh.” Then she kissed his cheek as she started to walk away. “Be careful, Steve. You might not want to pull on that thread.”

Then she was gone.

A few feet away, Sam and Kara stood together, giving them time to talk.

“Nice shoes,” Sam commented.

She smacked his arm. “Hey! You try walking through wet grass in heels and see how well you can do.”

“Aren’t you an alien? I thought you didn’t have those problems.” He mentioned.

“Hey, the sun may have given me some powers, but the power of perfect balance was not one of them.” She joked. “Besides, there’s no one here I have to make an impression for anyway.”

He nodded and then sighed. “You know he’s going to go after him, right?”

“Yeah, I know.” Kara bit her lip. “I would too if I were in his shoes.”

“You don’t have a problem with that?” The man asked curiously, surprised by how calm she sounded.

“That’s his best friend…the only tie he has to his old home, his old life.” She looked down. “If I had that…”

Sam put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “Yeah, Steve filled me in a bit about your background. I’m sorry about your family and your home.”

“It was a long time ago.” She told him. “But even still, if I knew I had that connection out there somewhere, there is no one on Earth who could stop me from trying to find it and fix it.”

“You guys are lucky,” Sam told her. “Not many people find their soulmates so perfectly.”

Smiling, she pulled her phone out as it started to ring. “Thanks, Sam.”

Then she answered her phone. “Hey, baby.” She laughed. “Yes, I’m okay.” Another pause. “Okay! Okay, _okay_ , hang on.”

As Natasha walked away, Kara raised her voice. “Hey Steve, there’s someone on the phone who has a bone to pick with you.”

Both Sam and Kara saw the way his eyes lit up as he hurried for the phone. “Well, I wonder who could be calling me at this time of the day.”

As Steve walked away to talk to Layna, Kara faced Sam. “So, what will you do now?”

Putting his hands in his pockets, he shrugged. “I’m not sure. I didn’t expect any of this to happen, so now I’m at a loss.”

“Come home with us.” She told him without hesitation.

“What?”

Kara nodded and put a hand on his arm. “Come back to New York with us. I’m sure you could use a vacation, and you could meet some of the other Avengers. You’re our friend, and after all of this, you’re family. Come meet Layna. Come meet the rest of the crazies.”

“Are you sure?” He seemed hesitant to accept.

“I wouldn’t have said it if I weren’t positive it would go well for all parties involved.” She told him. “Please…come home with us.”

Nodding, he glanced back at Steve. “You know…I think I just might.”


	11. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve gets a surprise for Christmas.
> 
> *PLEASE READ THE NOTES BEFORE THE CHAPTER.*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Yes, I know what I'm doing.
> 
> I will most likely not respond to anyone who tries to tell me I don't know what I'm talking about or that I am being unrealistic (depending on how and what is said). First of all, this whole thing is unrealistic. Second, this situation happened with a close friend of mine, so that's where I got the idea.
> 
> I understand that it is a subject that can be touchy and not the easiest to handle. But everyone handles it differently. Steve has been in Layna's life now for a while and so I made the decision. If you don't like it, I'm sorry. But that is how the series is going to progress.

Snow fell outside the window as holiday decorations in the tower sparkled and twinkled in the bright lights that lit the room. The room itself was filled with people as it seemed every Avenger, including Sam, had gathered to celebrate the Christmas holiday.

The tree, which Tony insisted had to be real and fresh, stood so tall it nearly touched the ceiling and was decorated with a mixture of heirlooms, new glittery baubles, and handmade crafts that perfectly told the story of the people residing in the tower.

The noise in the room was loud and happy as everyone spoke to each other and waited for the festivities to start. Standing in front of the room with his heavily spiked eggnog, Tony finally quieted the group.

“Okay, it is a family tradition that at our holiday party, each guest must open one present each.” He told them. “Now is that time.”

As everyone sat around the room, gifts were handed out, and people waited for their turn to open the boxes.

“A new set of arrows!” Clint laughed as he inspected them.

“Lighter material,” Kara told him. “Easier to shoot and faster to reach their target.”

“You made those?” Maria asked her.

“Hell yeah, I did.” Kara laughed. “Tony and Bruce aren’t the only geniuses around here. Just because I choose not to build things doesn’t mean I can’t.”

“Touché.” The woman said back.

Moving on, everyone opened their gift until Steve was the only one left. Sitting beside Layna on the couch, he smiled up at Kara, who sat on the ledge set into the floor next to Thor.

“Hm…I wonder who this is from.” Steve teased as he picked up the wrapping paper covered in glitter.

Layna smiled. “It’s from me.”

“I know, sweetheart.” He kissed her forehead. “Now, let’s see what’s inside.”

Kara’s gaze flicked to her daughter, and she could see how hard Layna was working to keep her fidgeting to a minimum as not to give away her fear. This was a meaningful present, and she was scared that he wouldn’t have the reaction she needed him to have.

Laying her head on Thor’s shoulder, Kara watched as Steve peeled back the paper and opened the box on his lap. Then he looked up at Layna.

“Is this a school paper?”

She nodded. “Mama said she didn’t tell you yet. I had to write a paper in class about my hero. I picked you. My teacher tried to get me in trouble, but Mama and Uncle Tony worked it out for me.”

“Why would you be in trouble?” Thor wondered out loud. “Captain America is a great hero.”

“She didn’t write it about Captain America,” Kara said so everyone could hear. “She wrote it about Steve Rogers and how he filled in the role of father when her own never did.”

They watched in silence as he skimmed the pages, and Kara could see his eyes becoming wet. “Thank you, honey, this is amazing. The best present you could have given me.”

Glancing at Tony, who gave her a reassuring nod and smile, Kara sighed. “There’s more under the tissue paper.”

Looking at her in confusion, Steve reached further into the box until he felt a large envelope and pulled it out. On the front, in Layna’s handwriting, was a quote.

_Thank you for being the dad you didn’t have to be. I love you. Layna_

Steve looked up at Kara, and she nodded at him to open the envelope. He did so, and the whole room could see his body freeze.

“What happened?” Bruce asked. “What is that?”

“It’s…” Steve faltered and then looked at Kara. “Are you sure?”

“It wasn’t my decision. This all came from her.” She smiled, tears in her own eyes. “I just helped her put it all together.”

“But are you sure about this?” He asked again, urgently.

“I wouldn’t have helped her if I wasn’t one hundred percent positive that this was the best decision for everyone involved,” Kara said honestly.

“Would someone just tell us what the hell is in the envelope?” Sam yelled across the room.

Bringing his gaze down to look at Layna, Steve could now see how nervous she was. “It’s a petition for adoption.”

Looking at the young girl, Steve smiled. “You asked your mom for this?”

Layna nodded. “Did…are you…?”

“You want this? Really?”

Layna nodded. “Yeah.” She paused. “Will you be my daddy for real now? Please?”

Laughing, Steve dropped the papers and lifted the girl into his arms. “Of course, I will.” Then he sat her down again. “I may not have given you life, but life gave me the gift of you.”

“I love you, Daddy.” Layna smiled at him brightly.

Still looking shocked, Steve hugged her again. “I love you too, my wonderful daughter.”

Over Layna’s shoulder, Steve locked eyes with Kara. Smiling to each other, they realized that even though they came from harsh backgrounds and had lost everything they’d ever known, they now had the family they deserved. They weren’t going to take that for granted for even one second.

They were finally a family. They were finally whole again. Whatever happened, they would face it together.


End file.
